I just used Ghost 9.0 on my friend's HPa1000n PC. I "imaged" his C: drive to an external hard drive.

I hope to perfectly understand the following. Please comment:

A. If his C: hard drive crashes (but does not need replacement), I'd just restore the Ghost image onto the C: drive.

B. If his C: hard drive does need to be replaced, I can replace it with a same or larger drive and restore the image onto it.

C. THIS IS MY MAIN CONCERN: If his whole-computer is stolen (or destroyed in a fire), I'll need to buy another a1000n computer. Is this correct? C1 - If I buy another HP a1000n computer is success virtually assured or not necessarily. C2 - Can a different or similar computer be substituted; like an HP a2000n (for example)?

I dont think you could transfer it to a completely different pc if the original was stolen. the activation process locks its self to your hard ware setup in your pc it can change a little bit and you can get by with out re activation or just simply calling but dont know about if the whole hardware setup has changed....Im assuming your using XP operating system.. only way you could transfer it is if you ran sysprep before making image and were using similar system ( new computer replacing stolen one) to redeploy the image to .. some one feel free to correct me if Im wrong..

Question C1: Probably, but if your PC is lost or stolen, you are more likely to upgrade and purchase a newer PC model anyway (and so Question C2 would apply).

Question C2: Not necessarily, since the software drivers, etc. on the original image are unlikely to match the new hardware. You could, however, restore the application data files (e.g., “\My Documents\*.*”) from the old to the new PC without an issue.

My friend uses his computer in his auto-repair business. He does not need a powerful computer. He has a customer database program. He does not have the original CD. We are trying to protect against both a hard disk crash and a total loss of the computer (fire, theft, etc.)

So, if his computer were stolen, we would not be eager to buy a newer, more powerful computer. In fact, I am considering buying another (spare) HP a1000n computer. Therefore I am very interested in your expert opinion about whether this Ghost image would "work" on a replacement HP a1000n computer. Of course we could buy one and "try it"...

My friend uses his computer in his auto-repair business. He does not need a powerful computer. He has a customer database program. He does not have the original CD. We are trying to protect against both a hard disk crash and a total loss of the computer (fire, theft, etc.)

So, if his computer were stolen, we would not be eager to buy a newer, more powerful computer. In fact, I am considering buying another (spare) HP a1000n computer. Therefore I am very interested in your expert opinion about whether this Ghost image would "work" on a replacement HP a1000n computer. Of course we could buy one and "try it"...

Two identical computers, assuming you can buy another. The image would work.

- I'm assuming that all off-the-shelf a1000n's are identical- I understand that I might have to call Microsoft about XP reactivation (on a replacement a1000n).- In an earlier post (on this thread), nomak mentioned "sysprep". I don't know what that is.Thanks to all who have contributed to my understanding.I walk away with this conclusion:If friends's computer were stolen, we could buy another off-the-shelf HP a1000n and the Ghost image would (probably) work. We would run into a (solvable) issue with XP activation.Thank you.

Just my two cents worth--two *identical* computers--even if bought at the same time--may not truly be *identical*--the chances are greater if they are bought at the same time--but, I would never assume....the manufacturers are always *tweaking* their manufacturing process and components are under constant development--so the system may be *essentially* the same--but different.

One of my systems that I put together from individual components--the motherboard is version 1.01--when I do a BIOS update, I have to make sure I don't download the version 1.02 BIOS--the motherboard has the exact same name and model #, but several of the built-in chips (sound and network for examples) are not the same!

The closer two systems are to being identical, the better the chance you can restore an image to the *twin* and have it work. As mentioned before, you may have to call Microsoft and explain what you did to re-activate the OS--but, probably only if the re-activation is within a certain time period--I think within 90 days from the previous activation, or something like that.

Best recommendation--try it with the backup laptop to prove it works.

My critical data is *system* independent--all I have to do is install the OS, install the mission critical program(s), and the backed up database--and it will run on any system!

Thanks for your comments. My friend suggested (related to NightOwls observations) that the system would "probably boot" but there might be problems with sound or network (for example) drivers.

One point of clarification: We are not looking to pirate software here. Believe it or not, certain software vendors in the automotive business (and maybe other fields) don't provide CDs. So, if your system dies, you must go to the vendor and say "my system died, please reinstall the software." This is a point of vulnerability that a Ghost image coculd provide insurance against.

If time and money were free, I would do the following tomorrow: I would locate a few HP a1000n computers. I would buy them. Then I would try restoring my Ghost image (created today) onto these "spare" computers. Perhaps one of the 3 would work. Perhaps some would half-work.

As far as the Microsoft activation is concerned, the worst case scenario there (I would think) is buying a fresh copy of XP-Home.

Those of you who have discussed this with me: Please believe me when I tell you I am enormously appreciative of Radified. Thank you so much. David

Anybody else want to further offer their 2 cents on this topic, I'd be delighted to read it. Regards.

Ghost is the king when it comes to recovering from crashed drives. I think using a Ghost image to recover from a stolen computer is important. For example, my Dell 8600 notebook uses a TravelStar drive. I Ghost (clone) onto it periodically. I would HOPE that if my entire computer were stolen, I could buy another Dell 8600 and shove the TravelStar in and be "back in business". Based on the posts I've seen on this thread, the odds of success are "maybe". So be it. But it'd very comforting to think I am protected.

Question C2: To elaborate upon the comments of NightOwl, the same model PC from the same manufacturer does not necessarily contain the same hardware. However, in the case of HP/Compaq, there is typically a dash followed by an alphanumeric string at the end of the model number that further identifies the specific hardware configuration of the PC. If the two PC match in terms of the both the model number as well as this qualifier designation, then the restoration of the Ghost 10 image from one ought to work well on the other.

Thank you.(You guys are on board with me on this. Right?)I continue to seek a way to recover from a total loss of computer, instead of just a dead disk drive. I am delighted that you can use ANY disk drive replacement (same drive, bigger drive, etc.) but I still long for a way to not be devastated by the total loss of my computer.

For example, if there was a way to do a backup of everything except those drivers and such (that are the source of the incompatibilities discussed herein), that would be real cool. For gosh sakes, it's not unreasonable to want to be back in business right away if one's entire computer is lost. Right?

"... I continue to seek a way to recover from a total loss of computer, instead of just a dead disk drive..."

Behold the site of a vanished condominium located at 182A Lakeview Drive along the shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain south of Slidell, Louisiana. A government wind gauge at the nearby NASA Michoud Assembly Facility registered 167 mph from the north immediately prior to its destruction during Hurricane Katrina.

Inside the condo was a Dell Dimension 8250 with a 60GB Maxtor IDE SLAVE HDD I installed for the owner to maintain frequent "disk-to-image" Norton Ghost 2003 Backup images of his MASTER HDD - all for naught, as it sadly turned out last August 29th for the desktop PC

simply disappeared

. In retrospect, my urgings to him on employing a portable external HDD in addition would have proved totally fruitless had he been so amenable.